Dr Glenn Almany

Postdoctoral Fellow

National Science Foundation (USA) Postdoctoral Fellow (2003 - present); Fulbright (USA) Postgraduate Scholarship (2003 - 2004) BSc San Francisco State University PhD Oregon State University

Research Interests

• Community ecology of fishes

• Behavioral ecology of fishes

• Multi-species interactions (predation, competition, mutualism, etc.) and their effects on the structure and function of fish communities

• Marine conservation biology

I am broadly interested in the ecology of fishes, and in the application of research to conservation. My doctoral research on coral reef fishes examined how interactions between established community residents and newly arrived juveniles (e.g., predation, competition, etc.) influences community structure, and whether such interactions are affected by other factors, such as habitat complexity. I have conducted research on a wide variety of other topics, such as fisheries management, taxonomy and biogeography, behavioral ecology, effects of aquarium trade collecting, and the influence of indirect interactions in communities.

Recent and Current Projects Include

In collaboration with Dr. Geoff Jones, my postdoctoral research investigates one of the pressing questions in marine conservation: how connected are marine fish populations and communities? While marine fish populations have traditionally been viewed as demographically "open" systems (i.e., larvae settling to a reef were produced 10s to 100s of kilometers away) that are highly connected, we really don't know how far marine fish larvae disperse from their natal reefs. A few recent studies suggest that a significant proportion of larvae settling to a reef may actually be produced in that same system. Understanding the degree to which populations are connected to one another through larval dispersal is critical to designing networks of marine reserves and protected areas that effectively protect biodiversity and help rebuild depleted fisheries. At my study site in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea, I am using larval marking techniques and genetic analysis to determine larval dispersal patterns in several species of coral reef fish.

Selected Publications

Almany, G. R. 2004. Priority effects in coral reef fish communities of the Great Barrier Reef. Ecology. (pdf-132kb)

Almany, G. R. and M. S. Webster. 2004. Odd species out as predators reduce diversity of coral-reef fishes. Ecology.(pdf-95kb)

Almany, G. R. 2004. Differential effects of habitat complexity, predators and competitors on abundance of juvenile and adult coral reef fishes. Oecologia 141 (1): 105-113.(pdf-186kb)

Almany, G. R. 2004. Does increased habitat complexity reduce predation and competition in coral reef fish assemblages? Oikos 106 (2): 275-284.(pdf-238kb)

Almany, G. R. 2003. Priority effects in coral reef fish communities. Ecology 84 (7): 1920-1935.(pdf-269kb)

Harding, J. A., G. R. Almany, L. D. Houck, and M. A. Hixon. 2003. Experimental analysis of monogamy in the Caribbean cleaning goby, Gobiosoma evelynae. Animal Behaviour 65 (5): 865-874.(pdf-165kb)

Webster, M. S. and G. R. Almany. 2002. Positive indirect effects in a coral reef fish community. Ecology Letters 5 (4): 549-557.(pdf-154kb)

Steele, M. A., G. E. Forrester, and G. R. Almany. 1998. Influences of predators and conspecifics on recruitment of a tropical and a temperate reef fish. Marine Ecology Progress Series 172: 115–125. (pdf-1.4mb)

Almany, G. R. and C. C. Baldwin. 1996. A new Atlantic species of Acanthemblemaria (Teleostei: Blennioidei: Chaenopsidae): morphology and relationships. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 109 (3): 419-429.

Pearson, D. E. and G. R. Almany. 1995. The effectiveness of California's commercial rockfish port sampling program. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Technical Memorandum NOAA-TM-NMFS-SWFSC-218, June 1995.

Contact Details

Dr Glenn Almany

Campus: Townsville

Phone: +61 7 4781 5721

Fax: +61 7 4725 1570

Email: Glenn.Almany@jcu.edu.au